How stress affects your body - Sharon Horesh Bergquist
How stress affects your body - Sharon Horesh Bergquist
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-stress-…
Our hard-wired stress response is designed to gives us the quick burst of heightened alertness and energy needed to perform our best. But stress isn’t all good. When activated too long or too often, stress can damage virtually every part of our body. Sharon Horesh Bergquist gives us a look at what goes on inside our body when we are chronically stressed.
Lesson by Sharon Horesh Bergquist, animation by Adriatic Animation.
Content
8.921 -> Cramming for a test?
10.776 -> Trying to get more done
than you have time to do?
14.449 -> Stress is a feeling we all experience
when we are challenged or overwhelmed.
20.188 -> But more than just an emotion,
22.084 -> stress is a hardwired physical response
that travels throughout your entire body.
29.001 -> In the short term,
stress can be advantageous,
31.949 -> but when activated too often or too long,
35.232 -> your primitive fight or flight
stress response
38.209 -> not only changes your brain
40.172 -> but also damages many of the other
organs and cells throughout your body.
46.277 -> Your adrenal gland releases
the stress hormones
49.219 -> cortisol, epinephrine,
also known as adrenaline,
53.012 -> and norepinephrine.
55.298 -> As these hormones
travel through your blood stream,
57.742 -> they easily reach
your blood vessels and heart.
61.359 -> Adrenaline causes
your heart to beat faster
63.931 -> and raises your blood pressure,
over time causing hypertension.
69.044 -> Cortisol can also cause the endothelium,
or inner lining of blood vessels,
73.794 -> to not function normally.
76.104 -> Scientists now know
that this is an early step
78.848 -> in triggering the process
of atherosclerosis
82.398 -> or cholesterol plaque
build up in your arteries.
85.892 -> Together, these changes increase
your chances of a heart attack or stroke.
91.672 -> When your brain senses stress,
93.818 -> it activates your
autonomic nervous system.
96.549 -> Through this network
of nerve connections,
98.921 -> your big brain communicates
stress to your enteric,
102.205 -> or intestinal nervous system.
107.076 -> Besides causing butterflies
in your stomach,
109.653 -> this brain-gut connection can disturb
the natural rhythmic contractions
114.659 -> that move food through your gut,
116.979 -> leading to irritable bowel syndrome,
119.475 -> and can increase your
gut sensitivity to acid,
122.626 -> making you more likely to feel heartburn.
125.607 -> Via the gut's nervous system,
127.243 -> stress can also change the composition
and function of your gut bacteria,
133.118 -> which may affect your digestive
and overall health.
136.801 -> Speaking of digestion, does chronic
stress affect your waistline?
140.691 -> Well, yes.
142.104 -> Cortisol can increase your appetite.
144.256 -> It tells your body to replenish
your energy stores
147.273 -> with energy dense foods and carbs,
causing you to crave comfort foods.
153.747 -> High levels of cortisol can also cause you
to put on those extra calories
157.316 -> as visceral or deep belly fat.
160.878 -> This type of fat doesn't just make
it harder to button your pants.
164.119 -> It is an organ
that actively releases hormones
166.862 -> and immune system chemicals
called cytokines
170.072 -> that can increase your risk
of developing chronic diseases,
173.974 -> such as heart disease
and insulin resistance.
176.863 -> Meanwhile, stress hormones
affect immune cells in a variety of ways.
181.678 -> Initially, they help prepare
to fight invaders and heal after injury,
186.08 -> but chronic stress can dampen function
of some immune cells,
190.136 -> make you more susceptible to infections,
and slow the rate you heal.
195.072 -> Want to live a long life?
197.026 -> You may have to curb your chronic stress.
199.565 -> That's because it has even been
associated with shortened telomeres,
203.741 -> the shoelace tip ends of chromosomes
that measure a cell's age.
208.369 -> Telomeres cap chromosomes
210.149 -> to allow DNA to get copied
every time a cell divides
213.601 -> without damaging
the cell's genetic code,
216.88 -> and they shorten with each cell division.
219.744 -> When telomeres become too short,
a cell can no longer divide and it dies.
224.945 -> As if all that weren't enough,
226.635 -> chronic stress has even more ways
it can sabotage your health,
230.498 -> including acne,
231.906 -> hair loss,
233.091 -> sexual dysfunction,
234.476 -> headaches,
235.599 -> muscle tension,
236.754 -> difficulty concentrating,
238.23 -> fatigue,
239.358 -> and irritability.
241.217 -> So, what does all this mean for you?
243.816 -> Your life will always be filled
with stressful situations.
247.353 -> But what matters to your brain
and entire body
250.657 -> is how you respond to that stress.
253.392 -> If you can view those situations
as challenges you can control and master,
258.206 -> rather than as threats
that are insurmountable,
261.092 -> you will perform better in the short run
and stay healthy in the long run.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-t1Z5-oPtU